Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Seven Rules of Innovation

Blogger extraordinaire Ethan Zuckerman outlines his seven rules of innovation, which I fully agree with. These were derived from the notion "...that innovation often comes from unusual and difficult circumstances - constraints - and that it’s often wiser to look for innovation in places where people are trying to solve difficult, concrete problems rather than where smart people are sketching ideas on blank canvases."

Here are his seven rules:

- innovation (often) comes from constraint (If you’ve got very few resources, you’re forced to be very creative in using and reusing them.)

- don’t fight culture (If people cook by stirring their stews, they’re not going to use a solar oven, no matter what you do to market it. Make them a better stove instead.)